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How a Tiny Insect Was Used to Trace the Origins of Human Clothing

Almost all mammalian and avian species are host to various species of lice. But humans are among the few species that are host to three (or subspecies). The human head louse (Pediculus humanus capitis), the body louse (P. humanus corporis, also considered P. humanus humanus) and the pubic louse (Pthirus pubis) are obligate ectoparasites to the human body and can’t survive on other species, including pets. See full article. …

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Going to School with Carefully Combed Hair Takes on New Importance

September is National Head Lice Prevention Month: A Time to CombFirst! NEWTON, Mass. September 05, 2018 This fall, there is one more important reason for children to leave for school every day with their hair carefully combed. As schools relax their vigilance and allow children with head lice into the classroom, the nonprofit National Pediculosis Association (NPA) is urging parents to proactively use a quality lice and nit removal comb for early detection, so an infestation doesn’t catch them by surprise. The CombFirst! message is central to a year-long educational campaign sponsored by the NPA, which kicks off each September as National Head Lice Prevention Month. The NPA is a nonprofit organization that is dedicated to setting the highest possible public health standards, …

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Keeping Children Safe: September Is National Head Lice Prevention Month!

National Pediculosis Association Recommends Parents Be Informed Before Outbreaks Occur. Newton, MA August 23, 2018. NEWTON, Mass. (PRWEB) August 23, 2018 -- Parents naturally put their children first, constantly seeking information to keep their families nurtured and safe. But when it comes to head lice, they’re often confronted with conflicting guidance and misinformation—leading them to make potentially risky and ineffective treatment decisions. Among the hazards are serious health effects from repeated exposure to various pesticide remedies, treatment failures, lice resistance, and chronic infestations that make parents and children feel desperate and overwhelmed.That’s why September is National Head Lice Prevention Month, the beginning of a year-long awareness campaign …

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Should Kids with Lice Stay in Class?

The Doctors discuss whether children with lice should be allowed to remain in class or be kept at home until cleared? They are joined by retired school nurse Deborah Pontius and Deborah Altschuler, President of National Pediculosis Association, to weigh in on the subject. Deborah Pontius says, "The evidence just doesn't support excluding children from school for either nits or lice." She says while she was a nurse, she found that other children in the classroom with kids with lice were not getting them. "This action of excluding children and checking every child in a classroom just isn't supported by research [and] isn't supported by evidence," she contends. Adding,"Extremely rarely is lice actually transmitted in school." She says she feels that children should not be removed from the …

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Parents: Urge the FDA to Amplify Safe Combing Alternatives To Pesticide-Based Lice Treatments

Attention, parents: Protect your children from the potentially harmful pesticide-based shampoos and treatments that are commonly used to try to eliminate head lice. The National Pediculosis Association (NPA) is urging the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to provide more details on safe alternative combing products. Parents who want to lend their support to the cause have until 11:59 pm Eastern Time Monday, August 6 to provide comments at https://www.regulations.gov/docket?D=FDA-2018-P-0599. …

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New approaches in the systematics of rickettsiae

“The development of a formal order analysis (FOA) allowed constructing a classification of 49 genomes of Rickettsiaceae family representatives. Recently FOA has been extended with new tools—‘Map of genes,’ ‘Matrix of similarity’ and ‘Locality-sensitive hashing’—for a more in-depth study of the structure of rickettsial genomes. The new classification confirmed and supplemented the previously constructed one by determining the position of Rickettsia africae str. ESF-5, R. heilongjiangensis 054, R. monacensis str. IrR/Munich, R. montanensis str. OSU 85- 930, R. raoultii str. Khabarovsk, R. rhipicephali str. 3-7-female6-CWPP and Rickettsiales bacterium str. Ac37b. The ‘Map of genes’ demonstrated the complete genomes and their components in a graphical form. The ‘Matrix of similarity’ was …

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Detection of bacterial pathogens in clade E head lice collected from Niger’s refugees in Algeria

“Head lice, Pediculus humanus capitis, are obligate blood-sucking parasites. Phylogenetically, they occur in five divergent mitochondrial clades (A, D, B, C and E), each having a particular geographical distribution. Recent studies have revealed that head lice, as is the case of body lice, can act as a vector for louse-borne diseases. Here, we aimed to study the genetic diversity of head lice collected from Niger’s refugees (migrant population) arriving in Algeria, northern Africa, and to look for louse-borne pathogens. Comparative head lice samples collected from indigenous population of schoolchildren (non-immigrant) were also analyzed to frame the study.” Parasit Vectors. 2018 Jun 15. See full article: Detection of bacterial pathogens in clade E head lice collected from Niger’s …

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NPA Urges the US Food and Drug Administration to Recognize Safer Head Lice Treatment Choices

The National Pediculosis Association® (NPA) has submitted a petition to the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) requesting that it update its website and other educational materials so that combing with well-designed nit-removal combs like the LiceMeister® is presented as a safe and effective option for the treatment of children with head lice. Doing so would give more parents access to the critical information and guidance necessary to make informed decisions. There are many children for whom a non-chemical treatment for lice is required. Read full release. | Read the petition. | Read the FDA's acknowledgement of the petition. The NPA’s petition is consistent with the FDA’s goal to empower consumers and patients to make informed and effective health decisions, as stated by …

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Molecular Survey of Head and Body Lice, Pediculus humanus, in France

“Human lice, Pediculus humanus, are obligate blood-sucking parasites. Phylogenetically, they belong to several mitochondrial clades exhibiting some geographic differences. Currently, the body louse is the only recognized disease vector, with the head louse being proposed as an additional vector. In this article, we study the genetic diversity of head and body lice collected from Bobigny, a town located close to Paris (France), and look for louse-borne pathogens.” Vector Borne Zoonotic Dis. 2018 May. See full article: "Molecular Survey of Head and Body Lice, Pediculus humanus, in France." …

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